YAK-1 related serine/threonine protein kinase-HTLAR33

ABSTRACT

HTLAR33 polypeptides and polynucleotides and methods for producing such polypeptides by recombinant techniques are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing HTLAR33 polypeptides and polynucleotides in therapy, and diagnostic assays for such.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/053,924, filed Jul. 28, 1997, now abandoned, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to newly identified polypeptides and polynucleotides encoding such polypeptides, to their use in therapy and in identifying compounds which may be agonists, antagonists and/or inhibitors which are potentially useful in therapy, and to production of such polypeptides and polynucleotides.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The drug discovery process is currently undergoing a fundamental revolution as it embraces `functional genomics`, that is, high throughput genome- or gene-based biology. This approach is rapidly superceding earlier approaches based on `positional cloning`. A phenotype, that is a biological function or genetic disease, would be identified and this would then be tracked back to the responsible gene, based on its genetic map position.

Functional genomics relies heavily on the various tools of bioinformatics to identify gene sequences of potential interest from the many molecular biology databases now available. There is a continuing need to identify and characterise further genes and their related polypeptides/proteins, as targets for drug discovery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to HTLAR33, in particular HTLAR33 polypeptides and HTLAR33 polynucleotides, recombinant materials and methods for their production. In another aspect, the invention relates to methods for using such polypeptides and polynucleotides, including the treatment of bone loss including osteoporosis; inflammatory diseases such as Adult Respiratory Disease Syndrome (ARDS), Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), psoriasis, dermatitis, asthma, allergies; infections such as bacterial, fungal, protozoan and viral infections, particularly infections caused by HIV-1 or HIV-2; HIV-associated cachexia and other immunodeficiency disorders; septic shock; pain; injury; cancers; anorexia; bulimia; Parkinson's disease; cardiovascular disease including restenosis, atherosclerosis, acute heart failure, myocardial infarction; hypotension; hypertension; urinary retention; angina pectoris; ulcers; benign prostatic hypertrophy; and psychotic and neurological disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, manic depression, delirium, dementia, severe mental retardation and dyskinesias, such as Huntington's disease or Gilles dela Tourett's syndrome, hereinafter referred to as "the Diseases", amongst others. In a further aspect, the invention relates to methods for identifying agonists and antagonists/inhibitors using the materials provided by the invention, and treating conditions associated with HTLAR33 imbalance with the identified compounds. In a still further aspect, the invention relates to diagnostic assays for detecting diseases associated with inappropriate HTLAR33 activity or levels.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to HTLAR33 polypeptides. Such peptides include isolated polypetides comprising an amino acid sequence which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, most preferably at least 97-99% identity, to that of SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2. Such polypeptides include those comprising the amino acid of SEQ ID NO:2.

Further peptides of the present invention include isolated polypeptides in which the amino acid sequence has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, most preferably at least 97-99% identity, to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2. Such polypeptides include the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.

Further peptides of the present invention include isolated polypeptides encoded by a polynucleotide comprising the sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:1.

Polypeptides of the present invention are believed to be members of the Serine/Threonine Protein kinase family of polypeptides. They are therefore of interest because a number of polypeptide growth factors and hormones mediate their cellular effects through a signal transduction pathway. Transduction of signals from the cell surface receptors for these ligands to intracellular effectors frequently involves phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of specific protein substrates by regulatory protein serine/threonine kinases (PSTK) and phosphatases. Serine/threonine phosphorylation is a major mediator of signal transduction in multicellular organisms. Receptor-bound, membrane-bound and intracellular PSTKs regulate cell proliferation, cell differentiation and signalling processes in many cell types.

Aberrant protein serine/threonine kinase activity has been implicated or is suspected in a number of pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, septic shock, bone loss, many cancers and other proliferative diseases. Accordingly, serine/threonine kinases and the signal transduction pathways which they are part of are potential targets for drug design.

A subset of PSTKs are involved in regulation of cell cycling. These are the cyclin-dependent kinases or CDKs (Peter and Herskowitz, Cell 1994: 79, 181-184). CDKs are activated by binding to regulatory proteins called cyclins and control passage of the cell through specific cell cycle checkpoints. For example, CDK2 complexed with cyclin E allows cells to progress through the G1 to S phase transition. The complexes of CDKs and cyclins are subject to inhibition by low molecular weight proteins such as pl6 (Serrano et al, Nature 1993: 366, 704), which binds to and inhibits CDK4. Deletions or mutations in pl6 have been implicated in a variety of tumors (Kamb et al, Science 1994: 264, 436-440). Therefore, the proliferative state of cells and diseases associated with this state are dependent on the activity of CDKs and their associated regulatory molecules. In diseases such as cancer where inhibition of proliferation is desired, compounds that inhibit CDKs may be useful therapeutic agents. Conversely, activators of CDKs may be useful where enhancement of proliferation is needed, such as in the treatment of immunodeficiency.

YAK1, a PSTK with sequence homology to CDKs, was originally identified in yeast as a mediator of cell cycle arrest caused by inactivation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase PKA (Garrett et al, Mol Cell Biol. 1991: 11, 4045-4052). YAK1 kinase activity is low in cycling yeast but increases dramatically when the cells are arrested prior to the S-G2 transition. Increased expression of YAK1 causes growth arrest in yeast cells deficient in PKA. Therefore, YAK1 can act as a cell cycle suppressor in yeast.

Frequently, in diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, patients have established lesions of bone or cartilage, respectively. Treatment of such lesions requires an agent that will stimulate new bone or cartilage formation to replace that lost to the disease. Therefore, there is a need for drugs that increase the number of osteoblasts or chondrocytes, the cells responsible for bone or cartilage formation, respectively. Similarly, replacement of heart or skeletal muscle depleted by diseases such as myocardial infarction or HIV-associated cachexia requires drugs that stimulate proliferation of cardiac myocytes or skeletal myoblasts. The present invention describes a novel human homolog of yeast YAK1 termed HTLAR33. The sequence of HTLAR33 shares homology with predicted PSTK's from D. melanogaster, human and R. norvegicus and has motifs associated with known protein kinases. Inhibitors of HTLAR33 are expected to stimulate proliferation of cells in which it is expressed. These properties are hereinafter referred to as "HTLAR33 activity" or "HTLAR33 polypeptide activity" or "biological activity of HTLAR33". Also included amongst these activities are antigenic and immunogenic activities of said HTLAR33 polypeptides, in particular the antigenic and immunogenic activities of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2. Preferably, a polypeptide of the present invention exhibits at least one biological activity of HTLAR33.

The polypeptides of the present invention may be in the form of the "mature" protein or may be a part of a larger protein such as a fusion protein. It is often advantageous to include an additional amino acid sequence which contains secretory or leader sequences, pro-sequences, sequences which aid in purification such as multiple histidine residues, or an additional sequence for stability during recombinant production.

The present invention also includes include variants of the aforementioned polypetides, that is polypeptides that vary from the referents by conservative amino acid substitutions, whereby a residue is substituted by another with like characteristics. Typical such substitutions are among Ala, Val, Leu and Ile; among Ser and Thr; among the acidic residues Asp and Glu; among Asn and Gln; and among the basic residues Lys and Arg; or aromatic residues Phe and Tyr. Particularly preferred are variants in which several, 5-10, 1-5, 1-3, 1-2 or 1 amino acids are substituted, deleted, or added in any combination.

Polypeptides of the present invention can be prepared in any suitable manner. Such polypeptides include isolated naturally occurring polypeptides, recombinantly produced polypeptides, synthetically produced polypeptides, or polypeptides produced by a combination of these methods. Means for preparing such polypeptides are well understood in the art.

In a further aspect, the present invention relates to HTLAR33 polynucleotides. Such polynucleotides include isolated polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2. In this regard, polypeptides which have at least 97% identity are highly preferred, whilst those with at least 98-99% identity are more highly preferred, and those with at least 99% identity are most highly preferred. Such polynucleotides include a polynucleotide comprising the nucleotide sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:1 encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.

Further polynucleotides of the present invention include isolated polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, to a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, over the entire coding region. In this regard, polynucleotides which have at least 97% identity are highly preferred, whilst those with at least 98-99% identity are more highly preferred, and those with at least 99% identity are most highly preferred.

Further polynucleotides of the present invention include isolated polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, to SEQ ID NO:1 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:1. In this regard, polynucleotides which have at least 97% identity are highly preferred, whilst those with at least 98-99% identiy are more highly preferred, and those with at least 99% identity are most highly preferred. Such polynucleotides include a polynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1 as well as the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1.

The invention also provides polynucleotides which are complementary to all the above described polynucleotides.

The nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 shows homology with D. melanogaster serine/threonine protein kinase (F. Tejedor, et. al., Neuron 14(2): 287-301, 1995). The nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 is a cDNA sequence and comprises a polypeptide encoding sequence (nucleotide 209 to 1883) encoding a polypeptide of 558 amino acids, the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2. The nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 may be identical to the polypeptide encoding sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:1 or it may be a sequence other than the one contained in SEQ ID NO:1, which, as a result of the redundancy (degeneracy) of the genetic code, also encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2. The polypeptide of the SEQ ID NO:2 is structurally related to other proteins of the Serine/Threonine Protein kinase family, having homology and/or structural similarity with R. norvegicus Dual Specificity Yak-1 related Kinase (Dyrk) (H. Kentrup, et. al. J. Biol. Chem, 271(7): 3488-3495, 1996).

Preferred polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention are expected to have, inter alia, similar biological functions/properties to their homologous polypeptides and polynucleotides. Furthermore, preferred polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention have at least one HTLAR33 activity.

The present invention also relates to partial or other polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences which were first identified prior to the determination of the corresponding full length sequences of SEQ ID NO:1 and SEQ ID NO:2.

Accordingly, in a further aspect, the present invention provides for an isolated polynucleotide comprising:

(a) a nucleotide sequence which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, even more preferably at least 97-99% identity to SEQ ID NO:3 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:3;

(b) a nucleotide sequence which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, even more preferably at least 97-99% identity, to SEQ ID NO:1 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:3;

(c) the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:3; or

(d) a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, even more preferably at least 97-99% identity, to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:4, over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:4;

as well as the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:3.

The present invention further provides for a polypeptide which:

(a) comprises an amino acid sequence which has at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, most preferably at least 97-99% identity, to that of SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:4;

(b) has an amino acid sequence which is at least 70% identity, preferably at least 80% identity, more preferably at least 90% identity, yet more preferably at least 95% identity, most preferably at least 97-99% identity, to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:4;

(c) comprises the amino acid of SEQ ID NO:4; and

(d) is the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:4;

as well as polypeptides encoded by a polynucleotide comprising the sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:3.

The nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:3 and the peptide sequence encoded thereby are derived from EST (Expressed Sequence Tag) sequences. It is recognised by those skilled in the art that there will inevitably be some nucleotide sequence reading errors in EST sequences (see Adams, M.D. et al, Nature 377 (supp) 3, 1995). Accordingly, the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:3 and the peptide sequence encoded therefrom are therefore subject to the same inherent limitations in sequence accuracy. Furthermore, the peptide sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO:3 comprises a region of identity or close homology and/or close structural similarity (for example a conservative amino acid difference) with the closest homologous or structurally similar protein.

Polynucleotides of the present invention may be obtained, using standard cloning and screening techniques, from a cDNA library derived from mRNA in cells of human brain using the expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis (Adams, M. D., et al. Science (1991) 252:1651-1656; Adams, M. D. et al., Nature, (1992) 355:632-634; Adams, M. D., et al., Nature (1995) 377 Supp:3-174). Polynucleotides of the invention can also be obtained from natural sources such as genomic DNA libraries or can be synthesized using well known and commercially available techniques.

When polynucleotides of the present invention are used for the recombinant production of polypeptides of the present invention, the polynucleotide may include the coding sequence for the mature polypeptide, by itself; or the coding sequence for the mature polypeptide in reading frame with other coding sequences, such as those encoding a leader or secretory sequence, a pre-, or pro- or prepro- protein sequence, or other fusion peptide portions. For example, a marker sequence which facilitates purification of the fused polypeptide can be encoded. In certain preferred embodiments of this aspect of the invention, the marker sequence is a hexa-histidine peptide, as provided in the pQE vector (Qiagen, Inc.) and described in Gentz et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1989) 86:821-824, or is an HA tag. The polynucleotide may also contain non-coding 5' and 3' sequences, such as transcribed, non-translated sequences, splicing and polyadenylation signals, ribosome binding sites and sequences that stabilize mRNA.

Further embodiments of the present invention include polynucleotides encoding polypeptide variants which comprise the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 and in which several, for instance from 5 to 10, 1 to 5, 1 to 3, 1 to 2 or 1, amino acid residues are substituted, deleted or added, in any combination.

Polynucleotides which are identical or sufficiently identical to a nucleotide sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:1, may be used as hybridization probes for cDNA and genomic DNA or as primers for a nucleic acid amplification (PCR) reaction, to isolate full-length cDNAs and genomic clones encoding polypeptides of the present invention and to isolate cDNA and genomic clones of other genes (including genes encoding homologs and orthologs from species other than human) that have a high sequence similarity to SEQ ID NO:1. Typically these nucleotide sequences are 70% identical, preferably 80% identical, more preferably 90% identical, most preferably 95% identical to that of the referent. The probes or primers will generally comprise at least 15 nucleotides, preferably, at least 30 nucleotides and may have at least 50 nucleotides. Particularly preferred probes will have between 30 and 50 nucleotides.

A polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention, including homologs and orthologs from species other than human, may be obtained by a process which comprises the steps of screening an appropriate library under stringent hybridization conditions with a labeled probe having the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment thereof, and isolating full-length cDNA and genomic clones containing said polynucleotide sequence. Such hybridization techniques are well known to the skilled artisan. Preferred stringent hybridization conditions include overnight incubation at 42° C. in a solution comprising: 50% formamide, 5×SSC (150 mM NaCl, 15 mM trisodium citrate), 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7.6),5×Denhardt's solution, 10% dextran sulfate, and 20 microgram/ml denatured, sheared salmon sperm DNA; followed by washing the filters in 0.1×SSC at about 65° C. Thus the present invention also includes polynucleotides obtainable by screening an appropriate library under stingent hybridization conditions with a labeled probe having the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 or a fragment thereof.

The skilled artisan will appreciate that, in many cases, an isolated cDNA sequence will be incomplete, in that the region coding for the polypeptide is cut short at the 5' end of the cDNA. This is a consequence of reverse transcriptase, an enzyme with inherently low `processivity` (a measure of the ability of the enzyme to remain attached to the template during the polymerisation reaction), failing to complete a DNA copy of the mRNA template during 1st strand cDNA synthesis.

There are several methods available and well known to those skilled in the art to obtain full-length cDNAs, or extend short cDNAs, for example those based on the method of Rapid Amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) (see, for example, Frohman et al., PNAS USA 85, 8998-9002, 1988). Recent modifications of the technique, exemplified by the Marathon™ technology (Clontech Laboratories Inc.) for example, have significantly simplified the search for longer cDNAs. In the Marathon™ technology, cDNAs have been prepared from mRNA extracted from a chosen tissue and an `adaptor` sequence ligated onto each end. Nucleic acid amplification (PCR) is then carried out to amplify the `missing` 5' end of the cDNA using a combination of gene specific and adaptor specific oligonucleotide primers. The PCR reaction is then repeated using `nested` primers, that is, primers designed to anneal within the amplified product (typically an adaptor specific primer that anneals further 3' in the adaptor sequence and a gene specific primer that anneals further 5' in the known gene sequence). The products of this reaction can then be analysed by DNA sequencing and a full-length cDNA constructed either by joining the product directly to the existing cDNA to give a complete sequence, or carrying out a separate full-length PCR using the new sequence information for the design of the 5' primer.

Recombinant polypeptides of the present invention may be prepared by processes well known in the art from genetically engineered host cells comprising expression systems. Accordingly, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to expression systems which comprise a polynucleotide or polynucleotides of the present invention, to host cells which are genetically engineered with such expression sytems and to the production of polypeptides of the invention by recombinant techniques. Cell-free translation systems can also be employed to produce such proteins using RNAs derived from the DNA constructs of the present invention.

For recombinant production, host cells can be genetically engineered to incorporate expression systems or portions thereof for polynucleotides of the present invention. Introduction of polynucleotides into host cells can be effected by methods described in many standard laboratory manuals, such as Davis et al., Basic Methods in Molecular Biology (1986) and Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989). Preferred such methods include, for instance, calcium phosphate transfection, DEAE-dextran mediated transfection, transvection, microinjection, cationic lipid-mediated transfection, electroporation, transduction, scrape loading, ballistic introduction or infection.

Representative examples of appropriate hosts include bacterial cells, such as streptococci, staphylococci, E. coli, Streptomyces and Bacillus subtilis cells; fungal cells, such as yeast cells and Aspergillus cells; insect cells such as Drosophila S2 and Spodoptera Sf9 cells; animal cells such as CHO, COS, HeLa, Cl27, 3T3, BHK, HEK 293 and Bowes melanoma cells; and plant cells.

A great variety of expression systems can be used, for instance, chromosomal, episomal and virus-derived systems, e.g., vectors derived from bacterial plasmids, from bacteriophage, from transposons, from yeast episomes, from insertion elements, from yeast chromosomal elements, from viruses such as baculoviruses, papova viruses, such as SV40, vaccinia viruses, adenoviruses, fowl pox viruses, pseudorabies viruses and retroviruses, and vectors derived from combinations thereof, such as those derived from plasmid and bacteriophage genetic elements, such as cosmids and phagemids. The expression systems may contain control regions that regulate as well as engender expression. Generally, any system or vector which is able to maintain, propagate or express a polynucleotide to produce a polypeptide in a host may be used. The appropriate nucleotide sequence may be inserted into an expression system by any of a variety of well-known and routine techniques, such as, for example, those set forth in Sambrook et al., MOLECULAR CLONING, A LABORATORY MANUAL (supra). Appropriate secretion signals may be incorporated into the desired polypeptide to allow secretion of the translated protein into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, the periplasmic space or the extracellular environment. These signals may be endogenous to the polypeptide or they may be heterologous signals.

If a polypeptide of the present invention is to be expressed for use in screening assays, it is generally preferred that the polypeptide be produced at the surface of the cell. In this event, the cells may be harvested prior to use in the screening assay. If the polypeptide is secreted into the medium, the medium can be recovered in order to recover and purify the polypeptide. If produced intracellularly, the cells must first be lysed before the polypeptide is recovered.

Polypeptides of the present invention can be recovered and purified from recombinant cell cultures by well-known methods including ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, affinity chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography and lectin chromatography. Most preferably, high performance liquid chromatography is employed for purification. Well known techniques for refolding proteins may be employed to regenerate active conformation when the polypeptide is denatured during isolation and or purification.

This invention also relates to the use of polynucleotides of the present invention as diagnostic reagents. Detection of a mutated form of the gene characterised by the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:1 which is associated with a dysfunction will provide a diagnostic tool that can add to, or define, a diagnosis of a disease, or susceptibility to a disease, which results from under-expression, over-expression or altered expression of the gene. Individuals carrying mutations in the gene may be detected at the DNA level by a variety of techniques.

Nucleic acids for diagnosis may be obtained from a subject's cells, such as from blood, urine, saliva, tissue biopsy or autopsy material. The genomic DNA may be used directly for detection or may be amplified enzymatically by using PCR or other amplification techniques prior to analysis. RNA or cDNA may also be used in similar fashion. Deletions and insertions can be detected by a change in size of the amplified product in comparison to the normal genotype. Point mutations can be identified by hybridizing amplified DNA to labeled HTLAR33 nucleotide sequences. Perfectly matched sequences can be distinguished from mismatched duplexes by RNase digestion or by differences in melting temperatures. DNA sequence differences may also be detected by alterations in electrophoretic mobility of DNA fragments in gels, with or without denaturing agents, or by direct DNA sequencing (ee, e.g., Myers et al., Science (1985) 230:1242). Sequence changes at specific locations may also be revealed by nuclease protection assays, such as RNase and S1 protection or the chemical cleavage method (see Cotton et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1985)85:4397-4401). In another embodiment, an array of oligonucleotides probes comprising HTLAR33 nucleotide sequence or fragments thereof can be constructed to conduct efficient screening of e.g., genetic mutations. Array technology methods are well known and have general applicability and can be used to address a variety of questions in molecular genetics including gene expression, genetic linkage, and genetic variability (see for example: M. Chee et al., Science, Vol 274, pp 610-613 (1996)).

The diagnostic assays offer a process for diagnosing or determining a susceptibility to the Diseases through detection of mutation in the HTLAR33 gene by the methods described. In addition, such diseases may be diagnosed by methods comprising determining from a sample derived from a subject an abnormally decreased or increased level of polypeptide or mRNA. Decreased or increased expression can be measured at the RNA level using any of the methods well known in the art for the quantitation of polynucleotides, such as, for example, nucleic acid amplification, for instance PCR, RT-PCR, RNase protection, Northern blotting and other hybridization methods. Assay techniques that can be used to determine levels of a protein, such as a polypeptide of the present invention, in a sample derived from a host are well-known to those of skill in the art. Such assay methods include radioimmunoassays, competitive-binding assays, Western Blot analysis and ELISA assays.

Thus in another aspect, the present invention relates to a diagonostic kit which comprises:

(a) a polynucleotide of the present invention, preferably the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, or a fragment thereof;

(b) a nucleotide sequence complementary to that of (a);

(c) a polypeptide of the present invention, preferably the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a fragment thereof, or

(d) an antibody to a polypeptide of the present invention, preferably to the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.

It will be appreciated that in any such kit, (a), (b), (c) or (d) may comprise a substantial component. Such a kit will be of use in diagnosing a disease or suspectability to a disease, particularly bone loss including osteoporosis; inflammatory diseases such as Adult Respiratory Disease Syndrome (ARDS), Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), psoriasis, dermatitis, asthma, allergies; infections such as bacterial, fungal, protozoan and viral infections, particularly infections caused by HIV-1 or HIV-2; HIV-associated cachexia and other immunodeficiency disorders; septic shock; pain; injury; cancers; anorexia; bulimia; Parkinson's disease; cardiovascular disease including restenosis, atherosclerosis, acute heart failure, myocardial infarction; hypotension; hypertension; urinary retention; angina pectoris; ulcers; benign prostatic hypertrophy; and psychotic and neurological disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, manic depression, delirium, dementia, severe mental retardation and dyskinesias, such as Huntington's disease or Gilles dela Tourett's syndrome, amongst others.

The nucleotide sequences of the present invention are also valuable for chromosome identification. The sequence is specifically targeted to, and can hybridize with, a particular location on an individual human chromosome. The mapping of relevant sequences to chromosomes according to the present invention is an important first step in correlating those sequences with gene associated disease. Once a sequence has been mapped to a precise chromosomal location, the physical position of the sequence on the chromosome can be correlated with genetic map data. Such data are found in, for example, V. McKusick, Mendelian Inheritance in Man (available on-line through Johns Hopkins University Welch Medical Library). The relationship between genes and diseases that have been mapped to the same chromosomal region are then identified through linkage analysis (coinheritance of physically adjacent genes).

The differences in the cDNA or genomic sequence between affected and unaffected individuals can also be determined. If a mutation is observed in some or all of the affected individuals but not in any normal individuals, then the mutation is likely to be the causative agent of the disease.

The polypeptides of the invention or their fragments or analogs thereof, or cells expressing them, can also be used as inmmunogens to produce antibodies immunospecific for polypeptides of the present invention. The term "immunospecific" means that the antibodies have substantially greater affinity for the polypeptides of the invention than their affinity for other related polypeptides in the prior art.

Antibodies generated against polypeptides of the present invention may be obtained by administering the polypeptides or epitope-bearing fragments, analogs or cells to an animal, preferably a non-human animal, using routine protocols. For preparation of monoclonal antibodies, any technique which provides antibodies produced by continuous cell line cultures can be used. Examples include the hybridoma technique (Kohler, G. and Milstein, C., Nature (1975) 256:495-497), the trioma technique, the human B-cell hybridoma technique (Kozbor et al., Immunology Today (1983) 4:72) and the EBV-hybridoma technique (Cole et al., MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AND CANCER THERAPY, pp. 77-96, Alan R. Liss, Inc., 1985).

Techniques for the production of single chain antibodies, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778, can also be adapted to produce single chain antibodies to polypeptides of this invention. Also, transgenic mice, or other organisms, including other mammals, may be used to express humanized antibodies.

The above-described antibodies may be employed to isolate or to identify clones expressing the polypeptide or to purify the polypeptides by affinity chromatography.

Antibodies against polypeptides of the present invention may also be employed to treat the Diseases, amongst others.

In a further aspect, the present invention relates to genetically engineered soluble fusion proteins comprising a polypeptide of the present invention, or a fragment thereof, and various portions of the constant regions of heavy or light chains of immunoglobulins of various subclasses (IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE). Preferred as an immunoglobulin is the constant part of the heavy chain of human IgG, particularly IgG1 where fusion takes place at the hinge region. In a particular embodiment, the Fc part can be removed simply by incorporation of a cleavage sequence which can be cleaved with blood clotting factor Xa. Furthermore, this invention relates to processes for the preparation of these fusion proteins by genetic engineering, and to the use thereof for drug screening, diagnosis and therapy. A further aspect of the invention also relates to polynucleotides encoding such fusion proteins. Examples of fusion protein technology can be found in International Patent Application Nos. WO94/29458 and WO94/22914.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for inducing an immunological response in a mammal which comprises inoculating the mammal with a polypeptide of the present invention, adequate to produce antibody and/or T cell immune response to protect said animal from the Diseases hereinbefore mentioned, amongst others. Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a method of inducing immunological response in a mammal which comprises, delivering a polypeptide of the present invention via a vector directing expression of the polynucleotide and coding for the polypeptide in vivo in order to induce such an immunological response to produce antibody to protect said animal from diseases.

A further aspect of the invention relates to an immunological/vaccine formulation (composition) which, when introduced into a mammalian host, induces an immunological response in that mammal to a polypeptide of the present invention wherein the composition comprises a polypeptide or polynucleotide of the present invention. The vaccine formulation may further comprise a suitable carrier. Since a polypeptide may be broken down in the stomach, it is preferably administered parenterally (for instance, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous, or intradermal injection). Formulations suitable for parenteral administration include aqueous and non-aqueous sterile injection solutions which may contain anti-oxidants, buffers, bacteriostats and solutes which render the formulation instonic with the blood of the recipient; and aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions which may include suspending agents or thickening agents. The formulations may be presented in unit-dose or multi-dose containers, for example, sealed ampoules and vials and may be stored in a freeze-dried condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid carrier immediately prior to use. The vaccine formulation may also include adjuvant systems for enhancing the immunogenicity of the formulation, such as oil-in water systems and other systems known in the art. The dosage will depend on the specific activity of the vaccine and can be readily determined by routine experimentation.

Polypeptides of the present invention are responsible for many biological functions, including many disease states, in particular the Diseases hereinbefore mentioned. It is therefore desirous to devise screening methods to identify compounds which stimulate or which inhibit the function of the polypeptide. Accordingly, in a further aspect, the present invention provides for a method of screening compounds to identify those which stimulate or which inhibit the function of the polypeptide. In general, agonists or antagonists may be employed for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes for such Diseases as hereinbefore mentioned. Compounds may be identified from a variety of sources, for example, cells, cell-free preparations, chemical libraries, and natural product mixtures. Such agonists, antagonists or inhibitors so-identified may be natural or modified substrates, ligands, receptors, enzymes, etc., as the case may be, of the polypeptide; or may be structural or functional mimetics thereof (see Coligan et al., Current Protocols in Immunology 1(2):Chapter 5 (1991)).

The screening method may simply measure the binding of a candidate compound to the polypeptide, or to cells or membranes bearing the polypeptide, or a fusion protein thereof by means of a label directly or indirectly associated with the candidate compound. Alternatively, the screening method may involve competition with a labeled competitor. Further, these screening methods may test whether the candidate compound results in a signal generated by activation or inhibition of the polypeptide, using detection systems appropriate to the cells bearing the polypeptide. Inhibitors of activation are generally assayed in the presence of a known agonist and the effect on activation by the agonist by the presence of the candidate compound is observed. Constitutively active polpypeptides may be employed in screening methods for inverse agonists or inhibitors, in the absence of an agonist or inhibitor, by testing whether the candidate compound results in inhibition of activation of the polypeptide. Further, the screening methods may simply comprise the steps of mixing a candidate compound with a solution containing a polypeptide of the present invention, to form a mixture, measuring HTLAR33 activity in the mixture, and comparing the HTLAR33 activity of the mixture to a standard. Fusion proteins, such as those made from Fc portion and HTLAR33 polypeptide, as hereinbefore described, can also be used for high-throughput screening assays to identify antagonists for the polypeptide of the present invention (see D. Bennett et al., J Mol Recognition, 8:52-58 (1995); and K. Johanson et al., J Biol Chem, 270(16):9459-9471 (1995)).

The polynucleotides, polypeptides and antibodies to the polypeptide of the present invention may also be used to configure screening methods for detecting the effect of added compounds on the production of mRNA and polypeptide in cells. For example, an ELISA assay may be constructed for measuring secreted or cell associated levels of polypeptide using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies by standard methods known in the art. This can be used to discover agents which may inhibit or enhance the production of polypeptide (also called antagonist or agonist, respectively) from suitably manipulated cells or tissues.

The polypeptide may be used to identify membrane bound or soluble receptors, if any, through standard receptor binding techniques known in the art. These include, but are not limited to, ligand binding and crosslinking assays in which the polypeptide is labeled with a radioactive isotope (for instance, ¹²⁵ I), chemically modified (for instance, biotinylated), or fused to a peptide sequence suitable for detection or purification, and incubated with a source of the putative receptor (cells, cell membranes, cell supernatants, tissue extracts, bodily fluids). Other methods include biophysical techniques such as surface plasmon resonance and spectroscopy. These screening methods may also be used to identify agonists and antagonists of the polypeptide which compete with the binding of the polypeptide to its receptors, if any. Standard methods for conducting such assays are well understood in the art.

Examples of potential polypeptide antagonists include antibodies or, in some cases, oligonucleotides or proteins which are closely related to the ligands, substrates, receptors, enzymes, etc., as the case may be, of the polypeptide, e.g., a fragment of the ligands, substrates, receptors, enzymes, etc.; or small molecules which bind to the polypeptide of the present invention but do not elicit a response, so that the activity of the polypeptide is prevented.

Thus, in another aspect, the present invention relates to a screening kit for identifying agonists, antagonists, ligands, receptors, substrates, enzymes, etc. for polypeptides of the present invention; or compounds which decrease or enhance the production of such polypeptides, which comprises:

(a) a polypeptide of the present invention;

(b) a recombinant cell expressing a polypeptide of the present invention;

(c) a cell membrane expressing a polypeptide of the present invention; or

(d) antibody to a polypeptide of the present invention;

which polypeptide is preferably that of SEQ ID NO:2.

It will be appreciated that in any such kit, (a), (b), (c) or (d) may comprise a substantial component.

It will be readily appreciated by the skilled artisan that a polypeptide of the present invention may also be used in a method for the structure-based design of an agonist, antagonist or inhibitor of the polypeptide, by:

(a) determining in the first instance the three-dimensional structure of the polypeptide;

(b) deducing the three-dimensional structure for the likely reactive or binding site(s) of an agonist, antagonist or inhibitor;

(c) synthesing candidate compounds that are predicted to bind to or react with the deduced binding or reactive site; and

(d) testing whether the candidate compounds are indeed agonists, antagonists or inhibitors.

It will be further appreciated that this will normally be an interactive process.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides methods of treating abnormal conditions such as, for instance, bone loss including osteoporosis; inflammatory diseases such as Adult Respiratory Disease Syndrome (ARDS), Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), psoriasis, dermatitis, asthma, allergies; infections such as bacterial, fungal, protozoan and viral infections, particularly infections caused by HIV-1 or HIV-2; HIV-associated cachexia and other immunodeficiency disorders; septic shock; pain; injury; cancers; anorexia; bulimia; Parkinson's disease; cardiovascular disease including restenosis, atherosclerosis, acute heart failure, myocardial infarction; hypotension; hypertension; urinary retention; angina pectoris; ulcers; benign prostatic hypertrophy; and psychotic and neurological disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, manic depression, delirium, dementia, severe mental retardation and dyskinesias, such as Huntington's disease or Gilles dela Tourett's syndrome, related to either an excess of, or an under-expression of, HTLAR33 polypeptide activity.

If the activity of the polypeptide is in excess, several approaches are available. One approach comprises administering to a subject in need thereof an inhibitor compound (antagonist) as hereinabove described, optionally in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, in an amount effective to inhibit the function of the polypeptide, such as, for example, by blocking the binding of ligands, substrates, receptors, enzymes, etc., or by inhibiting a second signal, and thereby alleviating the abnormal condition. In another approach, soluble forms of the polypeptides still capable of binding the ligand, substrate, enzymes, receptors, etc. in competition with endogenous polypeptide may be administered. Typical examples of such competitors include fragments of the HTLAR33 polypeptide.

In still another approach, expression of the gene encoding endogenous HTLAR33 polypeptide can be inhibited using expression blocking techniques. Known such techniques involve the use of antisense sequences, either internally generated or separately administered (see, for example, O'Connor, J Neurochem (1991) 56:560 in Oligodeoxynucleotides as Antisense Inhibitors of Gene Expression, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. (1988)). Alternatively, oligonucleotides which form triple helices with the gene can be supplied (see, for example, Lee et al., Nucleic Acids Res (1979) 6:3073; Cooney et al., Science (1988) 241:456; Dervan et al., Science (1991) 251:1360). These oligomers can be administered per se or the relevant oligomers can be expressed in vivo.

For treating abnormal conditions related to an under-expression of HTLAR33 and its activity, several approaches are also available. One approach comprises administering to a subject a therapeutically effective amount of a compound which activates a polypeptide of the present invention, i.e., an agonist as described above, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, to thereby alleviate the abnormal condition. Alternatively, gene therapy may be employed to effect the endogenous production of HTLAR33 by the relevant cells in the subject. For example, a polynucleotide of the invention may be engineered for expression in a replication defective retroviral vector, as discussed above. The retroviral expression construct may then be isolated and introduced into a packaging cell transduced with a retroviral plasmid vector containing RNA encoding a polypeptide of the present invention such that the packaging cell now produces infectious viral particles containing the gene of interest. These producer cells may be administered to a subject for engineering cells in vivo and expression of the polypeptide in vivo. For an overview of gene therapy, see Chapter 20, Gene Therapy and other Molecular Genetic-based Therapeutic Approaches, (and references cited therein) in Human Molecular Genetics, T Strachan and A P Read, BIOS Scientific Publishers Ltd (1996). Another approach is to administer a therapeutic amount of a polypeptide of the present invention in combination with a suitable pharmaceutical carrier.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides for pharmaceutical compositions comprising a therapeutically effective amount of a polypeptide, such as the soluble form of a polypeptide of the present invention, agonist/antagonist peptide or small molecule compound, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. Such carriers include, but are not limited to, saline, buffered saline, dextrose, water, glycerol, ethanol, and combinations thereof. The invention further relates to pharmaceutical packs and kits comprising one or more containers filled with one or more of the ingredients of the aforementioned compositions of the invention. Polypeptides and other compounds of the present invention may be employed alone or in conjunction with other compounds, such as therapeutic compounds.

The composition will be adapted to the route of administration, for instance by a systemic or an oral route. Preferred forms of systemic administration include injection, typically by intravenous injection. Other injection routes, such as subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intraperitoneal, can be used. Alternative means for systemic administration include transmucosal and transdermal administration using penetrants such as bile salts or fusidic acids or other detergents. In addition, if a polypeptide or other compounds of the present invention can be formulated in an enteric or an encapsulated formulation, oral administration may also be possible. Administration of these compounds may also be topical and/or localized, in the form of salves, pastes, gels, and the like.

The dosage range required depends on the choice of peptide or other compounds of the present invention, the route of administration, the nature of the formulation, the nature of the subject's condition, and the judgment of the attending practitioner. Suitable dosages, however, are in the range of 0.1-100 μg/kg of subject. Wide variations in the needed dosage, however, are to be expected in view of the variety of compounds available and the differing efficiencies of various routes of administration. For example, oral administration would be expected to require higher dosages than administration by intravenous injection. Variations in these dosage levels can be adjusted using standard empirical routines for optimization, as is well understood in the art.

Polypeptides used in treatment can also be generated endogenously in the subject, in treatment modalities often referred to as "gene therapy" as described above. Thus, for example, cells from a subject may be engineered with a polynucleotide, such as a DNA or RNA, to encode a polypeptide ex vivo, and for example, by the use of a retroviral plasmid vector. The cells are then introduced into the subject.

Polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences form a valuable information resource with which to identify further sequences of similar homology. This is most easily facilitated by storing the sequence in a computer readable medium and then using the stored data to search a sequence database using well known searching tools, such as GCC. Accordingly, in a further aspect, the present invention provides for a computer readable medium having stored thereon a polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 and/or a polypeptide sequence encoded thereby.

The following definitions are provided to facilitate understanding of certain terms used frequently hereinbefore.

"Antibodies" as used herein includes polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, chimeric, single chain, and humanized antibodies, as well as Fab fragments, including the products of an Fab or other immunoglobulin expression library.

"Isolated" means altered "by the hand of man" from the natural state. If an "isolated" composition or substance occurs in nature, it has been changed or removed from its original environment, or both. For example, a polynucleotide or a polypeptide naturally present in a living animal is not "isolated," but the same polynucleotide or polypeptide separated from the coexisting materials of its natural state is "isolated", as the term is employed herein.

"Polynucleotide" generally refers to any polyribonucleotide or polydeoxribonucleotide, which may be unmodified RNA or DNA or modified RNA or DNA. "Polynucleotides" include, without limitation, single- and double-stranded DNA, DNA that is a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions, single- and double-stranded RNA, and RNA that is mixture of single- and double-stranded regions, hybrid molecules comprising DNA and RNA that may be single-stranded or, more typically, double-stranded or a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions. In addition, "polynucleotide" refers to triple-stranded regions comprising RNA or DNA or both RNA and DNA. The term "polynucleotide" also includes DNAs or RNAs containing one or more modified bases and DNAs or RNAs with backbones modified for stability or for other reasons. "Modified" bases include, for example, tritylated bases and unusual bases such as inosine. A variety of modifications may be made to DNA and RNA; thus, "polynucleotide" embraces chemically, enzymatically or metabolically modified forms of polynucleotides as typically found in nature, as well as the chemical forms of DNA and RNA characteristic of viruses and cells. "Polynucleotide" also embraces relatively short polynucleotides, often referred to as oligonucleotides.

"Polypeptide" refers to any peptide or protein comprising two or more amino acids joined to each other by peptide bonds or modified peptide bonds, i.e., peptide isosteres. "Polypeptide" refers to both short chains, commonly referred to as peptides, oligopeptides or oligomers, and to longer chains, generally referred to as proteins. Polypeptides may contain amino acids other than the 20 gene-encoded amino acids. "Polypeptides" include amino acid sequences modified either by natural processes, such as post-translational processing, or by chemical modification techniques which are well known in the art. Such modifications are well described in basic texts and in more detailed monographs, as well as in a voluminous research literature. Modifications may occur anywhere in a polypeptide, including the peptide backbone, the amino acid side-chains and the amino or carboxyl termini. It will be appreciated that the same type of modification may be present to the same or varying degrees at several sites in a given polypeptide. Also, a given polypeptide may contain many types of modifications. Polypeptides may be branched as a result of ubiquitination, and they may be cyclic, with or without branching. Cyclic, branched and branched cyclic polypeptides may result from post-translation natural processes or may be made by synthetic methods. Modifications include acetylation, acylation, ADP-ribosylation, amidation, covalent attachment of flavin, covalent attachment of a heme moiety, covalent attachment of a nucleotide or nucleotide derivative, covalent attachment of a lipid or lipid derivative, covalent attachment of phosphotidylinositol, cross-linking, cyclization, disulfide bond formation, demethylation, formation of covalent cross-links, formation of cystine, formation of pyroglutamate, formylation, gamma-carboxylation, glycosylation, GPI anchor formation, hydroxylation, iodination, methylation, myristoylation, oxidation, proteolytic processing, phosphorylation, prenylation, racemization, selenoylation, sulfation, transfer-RNA mediated addition of amino acids to proteins such as arginylation, and ubiquitination (see, for instance, PROTEINS-STRUCTURE AND MOLECULAR PROPERTIES, 2nd Ed., T. E. Creighton, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1993; Wold, F., Post-translational Protein Modifications: Perspectives and Prospects, pgs. 1-12 in POSTTRANSLATIONAL COVALENT MODIFICATION OF PROTEINS, B. C. Johnson, Ed., Academic Press, New York, 1983; Seifter et al., "Analysis for protein modifications and nonprotein cofactors", Meth Enzymol (1990) 182:626-646 and Rattan et al., "Protein Synthesis: Post-translational Modifications and Aging", Ann NY Acad Sci (1992) 663:48-62).

"Variant" refers to a polynucleotide or polypeptide that differs from a reference polynucleotide or polypeptide, but retains essential properties. A typical variant of a polynucleotide differs in nucleotide sequence from another, reference polynucleotide. Changes in the nucleotide sequence of the variant may or may not alter the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide encoded by the reference polynucleotide. Nucleotide changes may result in amino acid substitutions, additions, deletions, fusions and truncations in the polypeptide encoded by the reference sequence, as discussed below. A typical variant of a polypeptide differs in amino acid sequence from another, reference polypeptide. Generally, differences are limited so that the sequences of the reference polypeptide and the variant are closely similar overall and, in many regions, identical. A variant and reference polypeptide may differ in amino acid sequence by one or more substitutions, additions, deletions in any combination. A substituted or inserted amino acid residue may or may not be one encoded by the genetic code. A variant of a polynucleotide or polypeptide may be a naturally occurring such as an allelic variant, or it may be a variant that is not known to occur naturally. Non-naturally occurring variants of polynucleotides and polypeptides may be made by mutagenesis techniques or by direct synthesis.

"Identity" is a measure of the identity of nucleotide sequences or amino acid sequences. In general, the sequences are aligned so that the highest order match is obtained. "Identity" per se has an art-recognized meaning and can be calculated using published techniques (see, e.g.: COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Lesk, A. M., ed., Oxford University Press, New York, 1988; BIOCOMPUTING: INFORMATICS AND GENOME PROJECTS, Smith, D. W., ed., Academic Press, New York, 1993; COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF SEQUENCE DATA, PART I, Griffin, A. M., and Griffin, H. G., eds., Humana Press, New Jersey, 1994; SEQUENCE ANALYSIS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, von Heinje, G., Academic Press, 1987; and SEQUENCE ANALYSIS PRIMER, Gribskov, M. and Devereux, J., eds., M Stockton Press, New York, 1991). While there exist a number of methods to measure identity between two polynucleotide or polypeptide sequences, the term "identity" is well known to skilled artisans (Carillo, H., and Lipton, D., SIAM J Applied Math (1988) 48:1073). Methods commonly employed to determine identity or similarity between two sequences include, but are not limited to, those disclosed in Guide to Huge Computers, Martin J. Bishop, ed., Academic Press, San Diego, 1994, and Carillo, H., and Lipton, D., SIAM J Applied Math (1988) 48:1073. Methods to determine identity and similarity are codified in computer programs. Preferred computer program methods to determine identity and similarity between two sequences include, but are not limited to, GCG program package (Devereux, J., et al., Nucleic Acids Research (1984) 12(1):387), BLASTP, BLASTN, and FASTA (Atschul, S. F. et al., J Molec Biol (1990) 215:403).

By way of example, a polynucleotide sequence of the present invention may be identical to the reference sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, that is be 100% identical, or it may include up to a certain integer number of nucleotide alterations as compared to the reference sequence. Such alterations are selected from the group consisting of at least one nucleotide deletion, substitution, including transition and transversion, or insertion, and wherein said alterations may occur at the 5' or 3' terminal positions of the reference nucleotide sequence or anywhere between those terminal positions, interspersed either individually among the nucleotides in the reference sequence or in one or more contiguous groups within the reference sequence. The number of nucleotide alterations is determined by multiplying the total number of nucleotides in SEQ ID NO:1 by the numerical percent of the respective percent identity (divided by 100) and subtracting that product from said total number of nucleotides in SEQ ID NO:1, or:

    n.sub.n ≦x.sub.n -(x.sub.n ·y),

wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in SEQ ID NO:1, and y is 0.50 for 50%, 0.60 for 60%, 0.70 for 70%, 0.80 for 80%, 0.85 for 85%, 0.90 for 90%, 0.95 for 95%, 0.97 for 97% or 1.00 for 100%, and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n). Alterations of a polynucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 may create nonsense, missense or frameshift mutations in this coding sequence and thereby alter the polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide following such alterations.

Similarly, a polypeptide sequence of the present invention may be identical to the reference sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, that is be 100% identical, or it may include up to a certain integer number of amino acid alterations as compared to the reference sequence such that the % identity is less than 100%. Such alterations are selected from the group consisting of at least one amino acid deletion, substitution, including conservative and non-conservative substitution, or insertion, and wherein said alterations may occur at the amino- or carboxy-terminal positions of the reference polypeptide sequence or anywhere between those terminal positions, interspersed either individually among the amino acids in the reference sequence or in one or more contiguous groups within the reference sequence. The number of amino acid alterations for a given % identity is determined by multiplying the total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2 by the numerical percent of the respective percent identity (divided by 100) and then subtracting that product from said total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2, or:

    n.sub.a ≦x.sub.a -(x.sub.a ·y),

wherein n_(a) is the number of amino acid alterations, x_(a) is the total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2, and y is, for instance 0.70 for 70%, 0.80 for 80%, 0.85 for 85% etc., and wherein any non-integer product of x_(a) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(a).

"Fusion protein" refers to a protein encoded by two, often unrelated, fused genes or fragments thereof. In one example, EP-A-0 464 discloses fusion proteins comprising various portions of constant region of immunoglobulin molecules together with another human protein or part thereof. In many cases, employing an immunoglobulin Fc region as a part of a fusion protein is advantageous for use in therapy and diagnosis resulting in, for example, improved pharmacokinetic properties [see, e.g., EP-A 0232 262]. On the other hand, for some uses it would be desirable to be able to delete the Fc part after the fusion protein has been expressed, detected and purified.

All publications, including but not limited to patents and patent applications, cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference herein as though fully set forth.

EXAMPLE 1

Random nucleotide searches of a commercial EST database resulted in identification of a 180 bp EST, (EST NO. 396208) which showed significant homology to Yak-1 related kinases. This clone was further analysed by sequencing. The partial clone had an insert of 1338 bp (SEQ ID NO:3), with a single open reading frame that encoded for a polypeptide of 412 amino acid residues (SEQ ID NO:4). Using gene specific primers (5'-GATCTTGATGGCCACAAGCTCCTGGGT-3' (SEQ ID NO:5) and 5'-GTCAATTTCGTAGCGCTCCACCAGCGCT-3' (SEQ ID NO:6). ) and human Brain Marathon cDNA (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.), PCR fragments corresponding to the missing 5' region were obtained. This region was confirmed by obtaining the same fragment from human skeletal muscle tissue cDNA. The final 2394 bp clone encodes for Serine/threonine kinase and has very high homology to other members of STK family.

    __________________________________________________________________________     SEQUENCE INFORMATION                                                           __________________________________________________________________________                                          SEQ ID NO:1                               1 GTGAGAAAGG GATTTGACAT GGGGGAGACA GTGGCCCATG GGGAGAAgAT                          - 51   TTTTGCTGTA CCTGACAACT CTGGGAGGAG AGAACCCTAT GTGATAACTT                  - 101  GGGGATTTGA CTTTGAGGCC CTCTAGGATG GACACaGTTG TGGAATGACC                  - 151  CTGGTATAAA AGGGGTGCCT GGAGAAAgGT CTCAGCGGCG GTGGCgCCgA                  - 201  GGTGCACGAT GCAAGAAGGC GCCCCCCGGC CGGGCTCCCG CTCCAGGCCT                  - 251  GGTTCCCATG GGCCcTcTGA GCCCACCATG GCcGTCCCAC CGGGCCATGG                  - 301  TTCcTTcTCT GGCTTCCCAG GGCCCCAGGA GCACACGCAG GTATTGCCTG                  - 351  ATGTGCGGcT ACTGCCTCGG AGGCTGCCCC TGGCCTTCCG GGATGCAACC                  - 401  TCAGCCCGCT GGGTAAGCTC TCTGTGCCTC ATCAAGACCT ACAAGCACAT                  - 451  CAATGAGGTA TACTATGCGA AGAAGAAGCG GCGGGCCCAG CAGGGCCACC                  - 501  CCAGGATTGG AGCAAACAAG AAGGAGAAGA AGGTCcTGAA CCATGGTTAT                  - 551  GATGAGGACA ACCATGATAA CATCGTGGCG CAGTGGCGAG CGCTGGTGGA                  - 601  GCGCTACGAA ATTGACTCGC TCATTGGCAA AGGCTCCTTT GGCCAGGTGG                  - 651  TGAAAGCCTA TGATCATCAG ACCCAGGAGC TTGTGGCCAT CAAGATCATC                  - 701  AAGAACAAAA AGGCTTTCCT GAACCAGGCC CAGATTGAGC TGCGGCTGCT                  - 751  GGAGCTGATG AACCAGCATG ACACGGAGAT GAAGTACTAT ATAGTACACC                  - 801  TGAAGCGGCA CTTCATGTTC CGGAACCACC TGTGCCTGGT ATTTGAGCTG                  - 851  CTGTCCTACA ACCTGTACGA CCTCCTGCGC AACACCCACT TCCGCGGCGT                  - 901  CTCGCTGAAC CTGACCCGGA AGCTGGCGCA GCAGCTCTGC ACGGCACTGC                  - 951   TCTTTCTGGC CACGCCTGAG CTCAGCATCA TTCACTGCGA CCTCAAGCCC                - 1001  GAAAACATCT TGCTGTGCAA CCCCAAGCGC AGCGCCATCA AGATTGTGGA                 - 1051  CTTCGGCAGC TCCTGCCAGC TTGGCCAGAG GATCTACCAG TATATCCAGA                 - 1101  GCCGCTTCTA CCGCTCACCT GAGGTGCTCC TGGGCACACC CTACGACCTG                 - 1151  GCCATTGACA TGTGGTCCCT GGGCTGCATC CTTGTGGAGA TGCACACCGG                 - 1201  AGAGCCCCTC TTCAGTGGCT CCAATGAGGT CGACCAGATG AACCGCATTG                 - 1251  TGGAGGTGCT GGGCATCCCA CCGGCCGCCA TGCTGGACCA GGCGCCCAAG                 - 1301  GCTCGCAAGT ACTTTGAACG GCTGCCTGGG GGTGGCTGGA CCCTACgAAG                 - 1351  GACGAAAGAA CTCAGGAAGG ACCTGGTGCT GCGCATGCTG GAGTATGAGC                 - 1401  CCGCCGCCCG CATCAGCCCC CTGGGGGCTC TGCAGCACGG CTTCTTCCGC                 - 1451  CGCACGGCCG ACGAAGCCAC CAACACGGGC CCGGCAGGCA GCAGTGcCTC                 - 1501  CACCTCGCCC GCGCCCCTCG ACACCTGCCC CTCTTCCAGC ACCGCCAGCT                 - 1551  CGGAGGCTCC AGTGGCTCCT CCAGTGACAA CCGGACCGAT ATTGTGGGGG                 - 1601  CCCTGGGCCC CCTATCACAG ACTGCCCCCA GGTCCCACCC TCCCAGCCGC                 - 1651  TGCGGCGTGC CCCACAAGAC ACATCAAGCC CCTGCCTCTG CCTCGTCACT                 - 1701  GCCTGGGAAC GGGGCCCAgT TACCCCCCCA GCCCGATACT TGGTCGTCCC                 - 1751  CATCACCAAC cCTCACCACC ACCCCCGGAG CTGATGGATG TGAGCCTGGT                 - 1801  GGGCGGCCtG CTGACTGCTC CCCACCTCAC CCAGCGCCTG CCCCCCAgCA                 - 1851  CCCGGCTGCC TCAGCCCTCC GGACTCGGAT GACTGGAGGT CGTCCACCCC                 - 1901  TCCCGCCTCC TGATGACCCT GCCACTCTGG GGCCTCaCCT GGCCTCCGTG                 - 1951  GTGTACCCCA GAGCACAGCA GCCAGCTCGT GACCCTGCCC CCTCCCTGGG                 - 2001  GCCCCTCCTG AAAGCCATAC CCTCCCCCAT CTGGGGGCCC TGgGCTCCCA                 - 2051  TCCTCATCTC TCTCCTTGAC TGGAATTGCT GCTACCCAgC TGGGGTGGGT                 - 2101  GAGGCCTGCA CTGATTGGGG CCTGGGGCAG GGGGGTCAAG GAGAGGGTTT                 - 2151  TGGCCGCTCC CTCCCCACTA AGGACTGGAC CCTTGGGCCC CTcTCCCCCT                 - 2201  TTTTTTCTAT TTATTGTACC AAAGACAGTG GTGGTCCGGT GGAGGGAAGA                 - 2251  CCCCCCCCTC ACCCCAGGAC CCTAGGAGGG GGTGGGGGCA GGTAGGGGGA                 - 2301  GATGGCCTTG CTCCTCCTCG CTGTACCCCC AGTAAAGAGC TTTCTCACAA                 - 2351  AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAACTC GAGGGGGGCC CGTACCCAAT CGCC                       -    SEQ ID NO:2                                                               - 1   MQEGAPRPGS RSRPGSHGPS EPTMAVPPGH GPFSGFPGPQ EHTQVLPDVR                   - 51  LLPRRLPLAF RDATSARWVS SLCLIKTYKH INEVYYAKKK RRAQQGHPRI                   - 101  GANKKEKKVL NHGYDEDNHD NIVAQWRALV ERYEIDSLIG KGSFGQVVKA                  - 151  YDHQTQELVA IKIIKNKKAF LNQAQIELRL LELMNQHDTE MKYYIVHLKR                  - 201  HFMFRNHLCL VFELLSYNLY DLLRNTHFRG VSLNLTRKLA QQLCTALLFL                  - 251  ATPELSIIHC DLKPENILLC NPKRSAIKIV DFGSSCQLGQ RIYQYIQSRF                  - 301  YRSPEVLLGT PYDLAIDMWS LGCILVEMHT GEPLFSGSNE VDQMNRIVEV                  - 351  LGIPPAAMLD QAPKARKYFE RLPGGGWTLR RTKELRKDLV LRMLEYEPAA                  - 401  RISPLGALQH GFFRRTADEA TNTGPAGSSA STSPAPLDTC PSSSTASSEA                  - 451  PVAPPVTTGP ILWGPWAPYH RLPPGPTLPA AAACPTRHIK PLPLPRHCLG                  - 501  TGPSYPPSPI LGRPHHQPSP PPPELMDVSL VGGLLTAPHL TQRLPPSTRL                  - 551  PQPSGLG                                                                 -    SEQ ID NO:3                                                               - 1  GAATTCGGCA CGAGCCTGGG CACACCCTAC GACCTGGCCA TTGACATGTG                    - 51  GTCCCTGGGC TGCATCCTTG TGGAGATGCA CACCGGAGAG CCCCTCTTCA                   - 101  GTGGCTCCAA TGAGGTCGAC CAGATGAACC GCATTGTGGA GGTGCTGGGC                  - 151  ATCCCACCGG CCGCCATGCT GGACCAGGCG CCCAAGGCTC GCAAGTACTT                  - 201  TGAACGGCTG CCTGGGGGTG GCTGGACCCT ACGAAGGACG AAAGAACTCA                  - 251  GGAAGGACCT GGTGCTGCGC ATGCTGGAGT ATGAGCCCGC CGCCCGCATC                  - 301  AGCCCCCTGG GGGCTCTGCA GCACGGCTTC TTCCGCCGCA CGGCCGACGA                  - 351  AGCCACCAAC ACGGGCCCGG CAGGCAGCAG TGCCTCCACC TCGCCCGCGC                  - 401  CCCTCGACAC CTGCCCCTCT TCCAGCACCG CCAGCTCCAT CTCCAGTTCT                  - 451  GGAGGCTCCA GTGGCTCCTC CAGTGACAAC CGGACCTACC GCTACAGCAA                  - 501  CCGATATTGT GGGGGCCCTG GGCCCCCTAT CACAGACTGT GAGATGAACA                  - 551  GCCCCCAGGT CCCACCCTCC CAGCCGCTGC GGCCCTGGGC AGGGGGTGAT                  - 601  GTGCCCCACA AGACACATCA AGCCCCTGCC TCTGCCTCGT CACTGCCTGG                  - 651  GAACGGGGCC CAGTTACCCC CCCAGCCCGA TACTTGGTCG TCCCCATCAC                  - 701  CAACCCTCAC CACCACCCCC GGAGCTGATG GATGTGAGCC TGGTGGGCGG                  - 751  CCTGCTGACT GCTCCCCACC TCACCCAGCG CCTGCCCCCC AGCACCCGGC                  - 801  TGCCTCAGCC CTCCGGACTC GGATGACTGG AGGTCGTCCA CCCCTCCCGC                  - 851  CTCCTGATGA CCCTGCCACT CTGGGGCCTC ACCTGGCCTC CGTGGTGTAC                  - 901  CCCAGAGCAC AGCAGCCAGC TCGTGACCCT GCCCCCTCCC TGGGGCCCCT                  - 951   CCTGAAAGCC ATACCCTCCC CCATCTGGGG GCCCTGGGCT CCCATCCTCA                 - 1001  TCTCTCTCCT TGACTGGAAT TGCTGCTACC CAGCTGGGGT GGGTGAGGCC                 - 1051  TGCACTGATT GGGGCCTGGG GCAGGGGGGT CAAGGAGAGG GTTTTGGCCG                 - 1101  CTCCCTCCCC ACTAAGGACT GGACCCTTGG GCCCCTCTCC CCCTTTTTTT                 - 1151  CTATTTATTG TACCAAAGAC AGTGGTGGTC CGGTGGAGGG AAGACCCCCC                 - 1201  CCTCACCCCA GGACCCTAGG AGGGGGTGGG GGCAGGTAGG GGGAGATGGC                 - 1251  CTTGCTCCTC CTCGCTGTAC CCCCAGTAAA GAGCTTTCTC ACAAAAAAAA                 - 1301  AAAAAAAAAA ACTCGAGGGG GGCCCGTACC CAATCGCC                              -    SEQ ID NO:4                                                               - 1  EFGTSLGTPY DLAIDMWSLG CILVEMHTGE PLFSGSNEVD QMNRIVEVLG                    - 51  IPPAAMLDQA PKARKYFERL PGGGWTLRRT KELRKDLVLR MLEYEPAARI                   - 101  SPLGALQHGF FRRTADEATN TGPAGSSAST SPAPLDTCPS SSTASSISSS                  - 151  GGSSGSSSDN RTYRYSNRYC GGPGPPITDC EMNSPQVPPS QPLRPWAGGD                  - 201  VPHKTHQAPA SASSLPGNGA QLPPQPDTWS SPSPTLTTTP GADGCEPGGR                  - 251  PADCSPPHPA PAPQHPAASA LRTRMTGGRP PLPPPDDPAT LGPHLASVVY                  - 301  PRAQQPARDP APSLGPLLKA IPSPIWGPWA PILISLLDWN CCYPAGVGEA                  - 351  CTDWGLGQGG QGEGFGRSLP TKDWTLGPLS PFFSIYCTKD SGGPVEGRPP                  - 401  PHPRTLGGGG GR                                                         __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING                                                    - -  - - (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                              - -    (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 6                                            - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 2394 base - #pairs                                                 (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                               - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                - - GTGAGAAAGG GATTTGACAT GGGGGAGACA GTGGCCCATG GGGAGAAGAT TT -             #TTGCTGTA     60                                                                  - - CCTGACAACT CTGGGAGGAG AGAACCCTAT GTGATAACTT GGGGATTTGA CT -             #TTGAGGCC    120                                                                  - - CTCTAGGATG GACACAGTTG TGGAATGACC CTGGTATAAA AGGGGTGCCT GG -             #AGAAAGGT    180                                                                  - - CTCAGCGGCG GTGGCGCCGA GGTGCACGAT GCAAGAAGGC GCCCCCCGGC CG -             #GGCTCCCG    240                                                                  - - CTCCAGGCCT GGTTCCCATG GGCCCTCTGA GCCCACCATG GCCGTCCCAC CG -             #GGCCATGG    300                                                                  - - TCCCTTCTCT GGCTTCCCAG GGCCCCAGGA GCACACGCAG GTATTGCCTG AT -             #GTGCGGCT    360                                                                  - - ACTGCCTCGG AGGCTGCCCC TGGCCTTCCG GGATGCAACC TCAGCCCGCT GG -             #GTAAGCTC    420                                                                  - - TCTGTGCCTC ATCAAGACCT ACAAGCACAT CAATGAGGTA TACTATGCGA AG -             #AAGAAGCG    480                                                                  - - GCGGGCCCAG CAGGGCCACC CCAGGATTGG AGCAAACAAG AAGGAGAAGA AG -             #GTCCTGAA    540                                                                  - - CCATGGTTAT GATGAGGACA ACCATGATAA CATCGTGGCG CAGTGGCGAG CG -             #CTGGTGGA    600                                                                  - - GCGCTACGAA ATTGACTCGC TCATTGGCAA AGGCTCCTTT GGCCAGGTGG TG -             #AAAGCCTA    660                                                                  - - TGATCATCAG ACCCAGGAGC TTGTGGCCAT CAAGATCATC AAGAACAAAA AG -             #GCTTTCCT    720                                                                  - - GAACCAGGCC CAGATTGAGC TGCGGCTGCT GGAGCTGATG AACCAGCATG AC -             #ACGGAGAT    780                                                                  - - GAAGTACTAT ATAGTACACC TGAAGCGGCA CTTCATGTTC CGGAACCACC TG -             #TGCCTGGT    840                                                                  - - ATTTGAGCTG CTGTCCTACA ACCTGTACGA CCTCCTGCGC AACACCCACT TC -             #CGCGGCGT    900                                                                  - - CTCGCTGAAC CTGACCCGGA AGCTGGCGCA GCAGCTCTGC ACGGCACTGC TC -             #TTTCTGGC    960                                                                  - - CACGCCTGAG CTCAGCATCA TTCACTGCGA CCTCAAGCCC GAAAACATCT TG -             #CTGTGCAA   1020                                                                  - - CCCCAAGCGC AGCGCCATCA AGATTGTGGA CTTCGGCAGC TCCTGCCAGC TT -             #GGCCAGAG   1080                                                                  - - GATCTACCAG TATATCCAGA GCCGCTTCTA CCGCTCACCT GAGGTGCTCC TG -             #GGCACACC   1140                                                                  - - CTACGACCTG GCCATTGACA TGTGGTCCCT GGGCTGCATC CTTGTGGAGA TG -             #CACACCGG   1200                                                                  - - AGAGCCCCTC TTCAGTGGCT CCAATGAGGT CGACCAGATG AACCGCATTG TG -             #GAGGTGCT   1260                                                                  - - GGGCATCCCA CCGGCCGCCA TGCTGGACCA GGCGCCCAAG GCTCGCAAGT AC -             #TTTGAACG   1320                                                                  - - GCTGCCTGGG GGTGGCTGGA CCCTACGAAG GACGAAAGAA CTCAGGAAGG AC -             #CTGGTGCT   1380                                                                  - - GCGCATGCTG GAGTATGAGC CCGCCGCCCG CATCAGCCCC CTGGGGGCTC TG -             #CAGCACGG   1440                                                                  - - CTTCTTCCGC CGCACGGCCG ACGAAGCCAC CAACACGGGC CCGGCAGGCA GC -             #AGTGCCTC   1500                                                                  - - CACCTCGCCC GCGCCCCTCG ACACCTGCCC CTCTTCCAGC ACCGCCAGCT CG -             #GAGGCTCC   1560                                                                  - - AGTGGCTCCT CCAGTGACAA CCGGACCGAT ATTGTGGGGG CCCTGGGCCC CC -             #TATCACAG   1620                                                                  - - ACTGCCCCCA GGTCCCACCC TCCCAGCCGC TGCGGCGTGC CCCACAAGAC AC -             #ATCAAGCC   1680                                                                  - - CCTGCCTCTG CCTCGTCACT GCCTGGGAAC GGGGCCCAGT TACCCCCCCA GC -             #CCGATACT   1740                                                                  - - TGGTCGTCCC CATCACCAAC CCTCACCACC ACCCCCGGAG CTGATGGATG TG -             #AGCCTGGT   1800                                                                  - - GGGCGGCCTG CTGACTGCTC CCCACCTCAC CCAGCGCCTG CCCCCCAGCA CC -             #CGGCTGCC   1860                                                                  - - TCAGCCCTCC GGACTCGGAT GACTGGAGGT CGTCCACCCC TCCCGCCTCC TG -             #ATGACCCT   1920                                                                  - - GCCACTCTGG GGCCTCACCT GGCCTCCGTG GTGTACCCCA GAGCACAGCA GC -             #CAGCTCGT   1980                                                                  - - GACCCTGCCC CCTCCCTGGG GCCCCTCCTG AAAGCCATAC CCTCCCCCAT CT -             #GGGGGCCC   2040                                                                  - - TGGGCTCCCA TCCTCATCTC TCTCCTTGAC TGGAATTGCT GCTACCCAGC TG -             #GGGTGGGT   2100                                                                  - - GAGGCCTGCA CTGATTGGGG CCTGGGGCAG GGGGGTCAAG GAGAGGGTTT TG -             #GCCGCTCC   2160                                                                  - - CTCCCCACTA AGGACTGGAC CCTTGGGCCC CTCTCCCCCT TTTTTTCTAT TT -             #ATTGTACC   2220                                                                  - - AAAGACAGTG GTGGTCCGGT GGAGGGAAGA CCCCCCCCTC ACCCCAGGAC CC -             #TAGGAGGG   2280                                                                  - - GGTGGGGGCA GGTAGGGGGA GATGGCCTTG CTCCTCCTCG CTGTACCCCC AG -             #TAAAGAGC   2340                                                                  - - TTTCTCACAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAACTC GAGGGGGGCC CGTACCCAAT CG - #CC              2394                                                                        - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 557 amino - #acids                                                 (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                            - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                - - Met Gln Glu Gly Ala Pro Arg Pro Gly Ser Ar - #g Ser Arg Pro Gly Ser        1               5  - #                10  - #                15                - - His Gly Pro Ser Glu Pro Thr Met Ala Val Pr - #o Pro Gly His Gly Pro                   20      - #            25      - #            30                    - - Phe Ser Gly Phe Pro Gly Pro Gln Glu His Th - #r Gln Val Leu Pro Asp               35          - #        40          - #        45                        - - Val Arg Leu Leu Pro Arg Arg Leu Pro Leu Al - #a Phe Arg Asp Ala Thr           50              - #    55              - #    60                            - - Ser Ala Arg Trp Val Ser Ser Leu Cys Leu Il - #e Lys Thr Tyr Lys His       65                  - #70                  - #75                  - #80         - - Ile Asn Glu Val Tyr Tyr Ala Lys Lys Lys Ar - #g Arg Ala Gln Gln Gly                       85  - #                90  - #                95                - - His Pro Arg Ile Gly Ala Asn Lys Lys Glu Ly - #s Lys Val Leu Asn His                   100      - #           105      - #           110                   - - Gly Tyr Asp Glu Asp Asn His Asp Asn Ile Va - #l Ala Gln Trp Arg Ala               115          - #       120          - #       125                       - - Leu Val Glu Arg Tyr Glu Ile Asp Ser Leu Il - #e Gly Lys Gly Ser Phe           130              - #   135              - #   140                           - - Gly Gln Val Val Lys Ala Tyr Asp His Gln Th - #r Gln Glu Leu Val Ala       145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -       #60                                                                               - - Ile Lys Ile Ile Lys Asn Lys Lys Ala Phe Le - #u Asn Gln Ala Gln         Ile                                                                                              165  - #               170  - #               175              - - Glu Leu Arg Leu Leu Glu Leu Met Asn Gln Hi - #s Asp Thr Glu Met Lys                   180      - #           185      - #           190                   - - Tyr Tyr Ile Val His Leu Lys Arg His Phe Me - #t Phe Arg Asn His Leu               195          - #       200          - #       205                       - - Cys Leu Val Phe Glu Leu Leu Ser Tyr Asn Le - #u Tyr Asp Leu Leu Arg           210              - #   215              - #   220                           - - Asn Thr His Phe Arg Gly Val Ser Leu Asn Le - #u Thr Arg Lys Leu Ala       225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -       #40                                                                               - - Gln Gln Leu Cys Thr Ala Leu Leu Phe Leu Al - #a Thr Pro Glu Leu         Ser                                                                                              245  - #               250  - #               255              - - Ile Ile His Cys Asp Leu Lys Pro Glu Asn Il - #e Leu Leu Cys Asn Pro                   260      - #           265      - #           270                   - - Lys Arg Ser Ala Ile Lys Ile Val Asp Phe Gl - #y Ser Ser Cys Gln Leu               275          - #       280          - #       285                       - - Gly Gln Arg Ile Tyr Gln Tyr Ile Gln Ser Ar - #g Phe Tyr Arg Ser Pro           290              - #   295              - #   300                           - - Glu Val Leu Leu Gly Thr Pro Tyr Asp Leu Al - #a Ile Asp Met Trp Ser       305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -       #20                                                                               - - Leu Gly Cys Ile Leu Val Glu Met His Thr Gl - #y Glu Pro Leu Phe         Ser                                                                                              325  - #               330  - #               335              - - Gly Ser Asn Glu Val Asp Gln Met Asn Arg Il - #e Val Glu Val Leu Gly                   340      - #           345      - #           350                   - - Ile Pro Pro Ala Ala Met Leu Asp Gln Ala Pr - #o Lys Ala Arg Lys Tyr               355          - #       360          - #       365                       - - Phe Glu Arg Leu Pro Gly Gly Gly Trp Thr Le - #u Arg Arg Thr Lys Glu           370              - #   375              - #   380                           - - Leu Arg Lys Asp Leu Val Leu Arg Met Leu Gl - #u Tyr Glu Pro Ala Ala       385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -       #00                                                                               - - Arg Ile Ser Pro Leu Gly Ala Leu Gln His Gl - #y Phe Phe Arg Arg         Thr                                                                                              405  - #               410  - #               415              - - Ala Asp Glu Ala Thr Asn Thr Gly Pro Ala Gl - #y Ser Ser Ala Ser Thr                   420      - #           425      - #           430                   - - Ser Pro Ala Pro Leu Asp Thr Cys Pro Ser Se - #r Ser Thr Ala Ser Ser               435          - #       440          - #       445                       - - Glu Ala Pro Val Ala Pro Pro Val Thr Thr Gl - #y Pro Ile Leu Trp Gly           450              - #   455              - #   460                           - - Pro Trp Ala Pro Tyr His Arg Leu Pro Pro Gl - #y Pro Thr Leu Pro Ala       465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -       #80                                                                               - - Ala Ala Ala Cys Pro Thr Arg His Ile Lys Pr - #o Leu Pro Leu Pro         Arg                                                                                              485  - #               490  - #               495              - - His Cys Leu Gly Thr Gly Pro Ser Tyr Pro Pr - #o Ser Pro Ile Leu Gly                   500      - #           505      - #           510                   - - Arg Pro His His Gln Pro Ser Pro Pro Pro Pr - #o Glu Leu Met Asp Val               515          - #       520          - #       525                       - - Ser Leu Val Gly Gly Leu Leu Thr Ala Pro Hi - #s Leu Thr Gln Arg Leu           530              - #   535              - #   540                           - - Pro Pro Ser Thr Arg Leu Pro Gln Pro Ser Gl - #y Leu Gly                   545                 5 - #50                 5 - #55                             - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1338 base - #pairs                                                 (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                               - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:                                - - GAATTCGGCA CGAGCCTGGG CACACCCTAC GACCTGGCCA TTGACATGTG GT -              #CCCTGGGC     60                                                                  - - TGCATCCTTG TGGAGATGCA CACCGGAGAG CCCCTCTTCA GTGGCTCCAA TG -             #AGGTCGAC    120                                                                  - - CAGATGAACC GCATTGTGGA GGTGCTGGGC ATCCCACCGG CCGCCATGCT GG -             #ACCAGGCG    180                                                                  - - CCCAAGGCTC GCAAGTACTT TGAACGGCTG CCTGGGGGTG GCTGGACCCT AC -             #GAAGGACG    240                                                                  - - AAAGAACTCA GGAAGGACCT GGTGCTGCGC ATGCTGGAGT ATGAGCCCGC CG -             #CCCGCATC    300                                                                  - - AGCCCCCTGG GGGCTCTGCA GCACGGCTTC TTCCGCCGCA CGGCCGACGA AG -             #CCACCAAC    360                                                                  - - ACGGGCCCGG CAGGCAGCAG TGCCTCCACC TCGCCCGCGC CCCTCGACAC CT -             #GCCCCTCT    420                                                                  - - TCCAGCACCG CCAGCTCCAT CTCCAGTTCT GGAGGCTCCA GTGGCTCCTC CA -             #GTGACAAC    480                                                                  - - CGGACCTACC GCTACAGCAA CCGATATTGT GGGGGCCCTG GGCCCCCTAT CA -             #CAGACTGT    540                                                                  - - GAGATGAACA GCCCCCAGGT CCCACCCTCC CAGCCGCTGC GGCCCTGGGC AG -             #GGGGTGAT    600                                                                  - - GTGCCCCACA AGACACATCA AGCCCCTGCC TCTGCCTCGT CACTGCCTGG GA -             #ACGGGGCC    660                                                                  - - CAGTTACCCC CCCAGCCCGA TACTTGGTCG TCCCCATCAC CAACCCTCAC CA -             #CCACCCCC    720                                                                  - - GGAGCTGATG GATGTGAGCC TGGTGGGCGG CCTGCTGACT GCTCCCCACC TC -             #ACCCAGCG    780                                                                  - - CCTGCCCCCC AGCACCCGGC TGCCTCAGCC CTCCGGACTC GGATGACTGG AG -             #GTCGTCCA    840                                                                  - - CCCCTCCCGC CTCCTGATGA CCCTGCCACT CTGGGGCCTC ACCTGGCCTC CG -             #TGGTGTAC    900                                                                  - - CCCAGAGCAC AGCAGCCAGC TCGTGACCCT GCCCCCTCCC TGGGGCCCCT CC -             #TGAAAGCC    960                                                                  - - ATACCCTCCC CCATCTGGGG GCCCTGGGCT CCCATCCTCA TCTCTCTCCT TG -             #ACTGGAAT   1020                                                                  - - TGCTGCTACC CAGCTGGGGT GGGTGAGGCC TGCACTGATT GGGGCCTGGG GC -             #AGGGGGGT   1080                                                                  - - CAAGGAGAGG GTTTTGGCCG CTCCCTCCCC ACTAAGGACT GGACCCTTGG GC -             #CCCTCTCC   1140                                                                  - - CCCTTTTTTT CTATTTATTG TACCAAAGAC AGTGGTGGTC CGGTGGAGGG AA -             #GACCCCCC   1200                                                                  - - CCTCACCCCA GGACCCTAGG AGGGGGTGGG GGCAGGTAGG GGGAGATGGC CT -             #TGCTCCTC   1260                                                                  - - CTCGCTGTAC CCCCAGTAAA GAGCTTTCTC ACAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA AC -             #TCGAGGGG   1320                                                                  - - GGCCCGTACC CAATCGCC             - #                  - #                       - #1338                                                                   - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 412 amino - #acids                                                 (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                            - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:                                - - Glu Phe Gly Thr Ser Leu Gly Thr Pro Tyr As - #p Leu Ala Ile Asp Met        1               5  - #                10  - #                15                - - Trp Ser Leu Gly Cys Ile Leu Val Glu Met Hi - #s Thr Gly Glu Pro Leu                   20      - #            25      - #            30                    - - Phe Ser Gly Ser Asn Glu Val Asp Gln Met As - #n Arg Ile Val Glu Val               35          - #        40          - #        45                        - - Leu Gly Ile Pro Pro Ala Ala Met Leu Asp Gl - #n Ala Pro Lys Ala Arg           50              - #    55              - #    60                            - - Lys Tyr Phe Glu Arg Leu Pro Gly Gly Gly Tr - #p Thr Leu Arg Arg Thr       65                  - #70                  - #75                  - #80         - - Lys Glu Leu Arg Lys Asp Leu Val Leu Arg Me - #t Leu Glu Tyr Glu Pro                       85  - #                90  - #                95                - - Ala Ala Arg Ile Ser Pro Leu Gly Ala Leu Gl - #n His Gly Phe Phe Arg                   100      - #           105      - #           110                   - - Arg Thr Ala Asp Glu Ala Thr Asn Thr Gly Pr - #o Ala Gly Ser Ser Ala               115          - #       120          - #       125                       - - Ser Thr Ser Pro Ala Pro Leu Asp Thr Cys Pr - #o Ser Ser Ser Thr Ala           130              - #   135              - #   140                           - - Ser Ser Ile Ser Ser Ser Gly Gly Ser Ser Gl - #y Ser Ser Ser Asp Asn       145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -       #60                                                                               - - Arg Thr Tyr Arg Tyr Ser Asn Arg Tyr Cys Gl - #y Gly Pro Gly Pro         Pro                                                                                              165  - #               170  - #               175              - - Ile Thr Asp Cys Glu Met Asn Ser Pro Gln Va - #l Pro Pro Ser Gln Pro                   180      - #           185      - #           190                   - - Leu Arg Pro Trp Ala Gly Gly Asp Val Pro Hi - #s Lys Thr His Gln Ala               195          - #       200          - #       205                       - - Pro Ala Ser Ala Ser Ser Leu Pro Gly Asn Gl - #y Ala Gln Leu Pro Pro           210              - #   215              - #   220                           - - Gln Pro Asp Thr Trp Ser Ser Pro Ser Pro Th - #r Leu Thr Thr Thr Pro       225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -       #40                                                                               - - Gly Ala Asp Gly Cys Glu Pro Gly Gly Arg Pr - #o Ala Asp Cys Ser         Pro                                                                                              245  - #               250  - #               255              - - Pro His Pro Ala Pro Ala Pro Gln His Pro Al - #a Ala Ser Ala Leu Arg                   260      - #           265      - #           270                   - - Thr Arg Met Thr Gly Gly Arg Pro Pro Leu Pr - #o Pro Pro Asp Asp Pro               275          - #       280          - #       285                       - - Ala Thr Leu Gly Pro His Leu Ala Ser Val Va - #l Tyr Pro Arg Ala Gln           290              - #   295              - #   300                           - - Gln Pro Ala Arg Asp Pro Ala Pro Ser Leu Gl - #y Pro Leu Leu Lys Ala       305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -       #20                                                                               - - Ile Pro Ser Pro Ile Trp Gly Pro Trp Ala Pr - #o Ile Leu Ile Ser         Leu                                                                                              325  - #               330  - #               335              - - Leu Asp Trp Asn Cys Cys Tyr Pro Ala Gly Va - #l Gly Glu Ala Cys Thr                   340      - #           345      - #           350                   - - Asp Trp Gly Leu Gly Gln Gly Gly Gln Gly Gl - #u Gly Phe Gly Arg Ser               355          - #       360          - #       365                       - - Leu Pro Thr Lys Asp Trp Thr Leu Gly Pro Le - #u Ser Pro Phe Phe Ser           370              - #   375              - #   380                           - - Ile Tyr Cys Thr Lys Asp Ser Gly Gly Pro Va - #l Glu Gly Arg Pro Pro       385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -       #00                                                                               - - Pro His Pro Arg Thr Leu Gly Gly Gly Gly Gl - #y Arg                                       405  - #               410                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 27 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                               - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:                                - - GATCTTGATG GCCACAAGCT CCTGGGT          - #                  - #                  27                                                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 28 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA                                               - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:                                - - GTCAATTTCG TAGCGCTCCA CCAGCGCT         - #                  - #                  28                                                                     __________________________________________________________________________ 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide that has at least 70% identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 70% identity defines the amino acid alterations allowed for SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(a) ≦x_(a) -(x_(a) *y), wherein n_(a) is the number of amino acid alterations, x_(a) is the total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.70 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(a) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(a).
 2. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1 comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide that has at least 80% identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 80% identity defines the amino acid alterations allowed for SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(a) ≦x_(a) -(x_(a) *y), wherein n_(a) is the number of amino acid alterations, x_(a) is the total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.80 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(a) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(a).
 3. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1 comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide that has at least 90% identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 90% identity defines the amino acid alterations allowed for SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(a) ≦x_(a) -(x_(a) *y), wherein n_(a) is the number of amino acid alterations, x_(a) is the total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.90 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(a) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(a).
 4. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1 comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide that has at least 95% identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 95% identity defines the amino acid alterations allowed for SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(a) ≦x_(a) -(x_(a) *y), wherein n_(a) is the number of amino acid alterations, x_(a) is the total number of amino acids in SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.95 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(a) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(a).
 5. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 70% identity to a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire region coding for SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 70% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.70 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 6. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 5 comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 80% identity to a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire region coding for SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 80% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.80 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 7. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 5 comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 90% identity to a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire region coding for SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 90% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.90 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 8. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 5 comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 95% identity to a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 over the entire region coding for SEQ ID NO:2, wherein 95% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2, and y is 0.95 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 9. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 70% identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:1, wherein 70% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and y is 0.70 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 10. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 9 comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 80% identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:1, wherein 80% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and y is 0.80 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 11. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 9 comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 90% identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:1, wherein 90% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and y is 0.90 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 12. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 9 comprising a nucleotide sequence that has at least 95% identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO:1, wherein 95% identity defines the nucleotide alterations allowed for the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 which are determined by the equation n_(n) ≦x_(n) -(x_(n) *y), wherein n_(n) is the number of nucleotide alterations, x_(n) is the total number of nucleotides in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and y is 0.95 and wherein any non-integer product of x_(n) and y is rounded down to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x_(n).
 13. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1 comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2.
 14. The isolated polynucleotide of claim 1 comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 15. An isolated polynucleotide obtainable by screening an appropriate library under stringent hybridization conditions with a labeled probe having the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.
 16. An isolated polynucleotide which is complementary to any one of the polynucleotides of claims 1-14 or
 15. 17. An expression system comprising the polynucleotide of any one of claims 1 or
 13. 18. A host cell comprising the expression system of claim 17 or a membrane thereof expressing the polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide.
 19. A process for producing a polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide of claim 18 comprising culturing the host cell under conditions sufficient for the production of the polypeptide and recovering the polypeptide from the culture.
 20. A process for producing a host cell comprising transforming or transfecting a cell with the expression system of claim 17 such that the host cell, under appropriate culture conditions, produces the polypeptide.
 21. A recombinant host cell produced by the process of claim 20 or a membrane thereof expressing the polypeptide. 